As I get older, I am beginning to notice that pictures like this affect me differently. As a young boy, I remember looking up to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X with wide eyes of admiration and reverence. They were on pedestals so high, they appeared to me as giants. I read their speeches and I read their books. I watched black and white documentaries about their lives. I hung posters with their images and wore t-shirts with their quotes. I internalized their messages and merged them with my own.

In this, my 38th year of living, I realize I am just one year away from the age they were when they were assassinated. They don’t look like giants to me anymore. They look like regular guys who not only had something to say about the plight of their people, but loved to eat good food and laugh with their friends. They look like young men who had families waiting for them at home with to-do lists on their desks and dates circled on their calendars and ideas for sermons and speeches on note pads in their pockets. They look like me; They look like my friends.

Headed into my 39th time around the sun this year, I can plainly see the youth in their eyes and hear the youth in their voices. I hear some trepidation about the future coupled with hope that what they are doing will matter in the long run… whether their choice to sacrifice their personal lives with their wives and children for the greater good of humanity generally and Black Americans particularly would make a difference 50 some odd years later.

Time flies. And as I contemplate on my thoughts 50 some odd years after my historic heroes have lived and died, I am not seeking answers to the question of whether their sacrifices mattered. Instead, I find myself asking questions to the man in the mirror—who I also find myself looking at differently these days. I will end this post by sharing with you a few of the questions I asked him when I saw him last:

What happened to your fire?

What happened to your fight?

What happened to your passion?

What are you doing with your life?

For whom are you standing or speaking?

What societal ill makes you cry?

Where is your battle? What cause will you champion?

For what are you willing to die?

What I Know for Sure: “I don’t know” is not an acceptable answer to any of these questions. Not at this age. Not in these times. Not for me at least. And though I may not know you, I venture to speak for you and say it isn’t acceptable for you either.

The way I see it, a transition happening is happening in the world. And we are being distracted with leftovers to keep us busy as the transition takes place. If we get too caught up in celebrating all of this capitalistic success,, we will be lulled to sleep. And when whatever is happening has happened, we won’t be prepared.

The Transition

You may notice an explosion in technology and other advancements on an artificial level. As we get farther into the new decade, you will see technology shift in drastic ways. We have already seen commercials connecting everything to the internet—like house lights, garage doors, heating and air conditioning systems, alarm systems, etc. Notice how connected everything is becoming… How connected we have to be to technology these days… How technology is creeping up to be an inseparable part of our lives?

Look at it this way: The first computer mainframe was so large, it took up an entire room. As technology advanced, you could fit computers on a desk (desktop), then your lap (laptop), then your pocket (phone), then your wrist (watch). Technology is so advanced now, that computers are on wheels (Tesla) and can get so small that they can fit inside of the body. As each advancement is introduced, we as humans take more active roles in becoming more dependent on it. Newer advancements have us getting used to keeping artificial intelligence always around us (phones, watches, glasses, etc.) and even inside our bodies (wireless ear buds). To the older/ more adepts citizens who may celebrate the fact that they still have their flip phones or don’t have many applications on their phones, or still write checks in Wal-Mart, Generation Z (the generation after Millennials) will do no such thing, as they have never known a world without the internet and will probably not consider a voluntary rejection of technological advancements as a realistic/ intelligent option. And the generation after GenZers, forget about it! They already have a name by the way: Gen Alpha[1].

The way I see it, all things artificial mimic the natural. And the network that is connecting computers to everything is modeled after the network that is nature. Neil deGrasse said it this way, “We are all connected; To each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically.” The Earth has a matrix so vast and so powerful, it would blow our minds if we really got in tune with it. And if you think that’s impressive, consider the network that is our (known) universe! It’s even more connected! This natural network is world more impressive than the technology that we are creating, but we don’t know it because the more and more advance technology becomes, the more time we spend with it and the less time we spend with nature.

You will find as this new decade unfolds, that we are naturally becoming more in tune with nature and the networks of the planet and the universe. 2020 will be packed with power and energy we have not felt in our lifetimes. Upon right use, we will create opportunities to change ourselves, our communities and the world in dramatic ways. You may have already experienced a bit of this power. You may be more in tune with your intuition; you may feel more endowed with insight; you may sense your powers of manifestation are getting stronger; or you may be seeing synchronicities and “coincidences” more frequently. Have you ever thought of someone randomly and within moments, they call you or in a matter of days, you may physically see them?[2]

I believe that the Earth’s network is making itself accessible to us. Something has switched on and we are now able to tap into a power that has been cut off for some time. Humans are graduating to a higher state of consciousness which comes with many rewards. The activation of our higher senses is only a foretaste of what is to come. More children, for instance, will be born with advanced gifts and talents, and even super human abilities.[3]

Putting it Together

The matrix of the virtual reality (VR) world is being created as we speak. Soon, VR will be presented as an alternative reality for humans to live in which will ultimately coerce humans to voluntarily disconnect from this present reality and the matrices of Nature the Earth. Humans and machines will be merged and create a race of transhumans. I am still on the fence of what kind of impact this will have on the collective—as I believe transitions like this have been experienced before—whether a transition of humanity from Venus to Earth or a transition from the Garden of Eden to exile—from Heaven to Earth—from one dimension to another (however you choose to interpret it). For some reason, I am wanting to resist this move to VR because I think it will cause more obstacles that need to be overcome when trying to reach the spiritual realm. The same way we have to “quiet our minds” in order to meditate and stop thinking about all of the thoughts flying to and fro in our minds, we will have to traverse yet another layer once the VR matrix is fully established.

Personally, I connect Christ Consciousness to the natural/ earth matrix I’ve been referring to. Once we get plugged into the Earth Matrix, there will be an increase of Christ abilities/ powers in humanity today. In a sense, this will mark the “second coming” of Christ, which will be thwarted by VR. This way, according to my theory, the VR energy will fuel the anti-Christ energy which will be manifested in the person of a transhuman.

Ultimately, a choice is being presented. On one hand, there is the Creator; on the other hand there is the created. On one hand there is nature intelligence; on the other hand there is artificial intelligence. On one hand there is God; on the other hand there is mammon. The masses will choose the latter—as most people are the walking dead/ asleep and controlled anyway. But the conscious who choose the planet will become the called who chose themselves (Matt 22:14).

Can you see how films like “Enemy of the State” (facial recognition technology/ tracking devices, etc.) and “iRobot” (computers/ robots in every home, VIKI compared to SIRI) are realities now? Soon, films like “Surrogates” and “The Matrix” and “Equals” will be the reality for humanity the longer we defer to machines/ computers/ artificial intelligence. Let me say that just like all information or power, A.I. is not evil. It is a tool. If we, as a collective, are not balanced or careful, it will be used to promote agendas that are other than good, and in a way that will attempt to destroy everything we know and love about our uniqueness as human beings and this planet we are experiencing that uniqueness on.

It may be hard for some to accept now, but we are not alone. In this decade, the US government will be crystal clear in its communication, interactions, relations (including treaties) with other life forms. Some entities want to help us, others want to make us slaves. Still others feed off of human energy (sexual, creative, emotional) and to keep us in a cycle that feeds and empowers them.

The Earth is responding by moving to the 5th dimension where the most negative of these beings cannot live. Understanding their fate, they are working diligently to survive. They have entered in co-creative relationships with humans who sold their souls (and attempting to sell ours) to advance an alien agenda. The only way these entities are able to keep us enslaved is to bind us to an artificial matrix that loop our souls in an endless (professional) reincarnation that feeds them and prevents us from graduating from the university that is this Planet.

The Bottom Line

We, who have been the guardians of this planet, are being distracted. We have been tossed the hand-me down model of capitalistic success which will mean nothing once human labor is no longer needed, and education and religion obsolete.

[1] Isn’t it interesting that the first several generations were given names that described their generation. The past several have been letters—at the end of the alphabet—Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. Gen Alpha signifies a new beginning. But of what?

[2] Contrast this with the random vacation you price followed by immediate droves of advertisements on Facebook and Instagram the next time you log on. Speak to the right person, they will tell you some of the things they talk about or think about begin appearing in the same types of ads!

[3] It will be the responsibility of the conscious community to train these children how to use their powers to keep balance. Otherwise with our current models of categorization, such gifted children will be labeled as mutations. Fear and jealousy will cause them to be looked down upon by larger society—similar to how mutants were looked down on in the X-Men series.

“When we see a black man who is constantly being praised by the Americans, begin to suspect him. When we see a black man get honors and all sorts of decorations and the United States flatters him with fine words and phrases, immediately suspect that person Because our experience has taught us that the Americans do not exalt any black man that is really working for the benefit of the black man.” Malcolm X

Over the past several months, I have noticed a lot of empowering and inspiring stories highlighting Black achievement in volumes I don’t remember in the past. I mean good news, big wins, and long awaited comebacks. I read the stories and am proud. I share the stories and hope to spread inspiration. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I also wonder why mainstream media is embracing blackness so beautifully and aggressively all of a sudden.

Don’t get me wrong, now. All of these named (and several more unmentioned) wins have been earned with hard work, long hours, and much sacrifice. Each is well-deserved and in many cases, long overdue. While Malcolm X encourages us to suspect the individuals being honored, I am suspicious, however, of the abrupt shift of American Industries honoring and exalting her former slaves in this way.

A transitory look at history will substantiate that we as a people haven’t always gotten the credit we deserved from the majority of the industries in which the aforementioned list represents (entertainment, financial, political, etc). We haven’t always gotten the recognition we deserved. We haven’t always gotten opportunities we deserved. We’ve been held down, pushed out, overlooked and unsung for generations. So while I celebrate and relate to the joyful feeling connected to finally getting “a piece of the pie”, I ponder at what cost and why now? Not to forget to mention the fact that if someone else is giving us a piece of anything, the power dynamics should raise an eyebrow or two—especially if we are interested in true black power.

Carter G. Woodson’s words from his Mis-Education of the Negro still ring true,“Negroes who have been so long inconvenienced and denied opportunities for development are naturally afraid of anything that sounds like discrimination. They are anxious to have everything the white man has even if it is harmful.”

I ultimately believe we’re being thrown hand-me-downs like pigs are thrown slop. And unfortunately for us (and the rest of the world) we are eating them like a gourmet meal. Anybody who knows anything about acquiring what other people have used, know that you only get access to the item once the original owner is done with it, can’t fit it anymore, done playing with it, has no use for it, or transitioning to something new.

Are these highly celebrated accolades leftovers? Why are we getting them now—as we turn the corner into 2020?

We are approaching some of the darkest days of the year. There are literally more dark hours than there are hours of sunlight. Around this time, we may experience feelings of being down, gloomy, or even depression. In many respects, this aligns with the “As without, so within” principle which would suggest that there is a sun inside of us (soul) just like there is a sun outside of us (El Sol in Spanish/ solis Latin).

Many cultures before us understood this correlation and had celebrations of lights and other festivals to illuminate us externally in hopes that it would have an effect internally. This is a large part of the reason why there are so many lights used during the Christmas season.

However, the more I think about darkness and its place in this existence, the more I realize that we run away from the darkness. We are afraid of the darkness. We think something is wrong with us when we experience dark and depressing times.

If we think about nature, light is not shining all of the time. There is day AND night. There is being awake (light) and being sleep (darkness). We even blink approximately 20 times per minute, giving us moments of darkness in our waking hours.

As I have been doing my year-end personal reflection, I have discovered that I have been severely imbalanced for a while. Somewhere along the way, I have adopted the notion that I am supposed to be happy and smiling all of the time—and any time I feel blah or like I don’t want to put on the mask, I ask myself, what is wrong with me?

Currently, I am in a place where I am accepting ALL of me: my good and my bad; my happy and my sad; my light and my darkness. I am learning to embrace it all—for that is the only way we can really know ourselves.

I always take everything back to nature. The trees outside have a part of themselves in the sun, but the other part is underground. And it’s said of most trees, that as high as they go up, they are equally or greater in length below—as the roots are what anchors the tree—giving it the foundation to stand up in the first place. The roots grow before the tree. It develops in the darkness before it ever sees the light of day.

If there are seasons in nature, why can there not be seasons in life? Does Mother Earth take a pill every time the winter comes to keep the sun out longer? Does Mother Nature go to the doctor every time it rains? There is nothing wrong with a few bad days. Explore the darkness, the loneliness, the gloom. Observe the way it makes you feel. Observe how you feel when you come out of it. Note any lessons you learned from it. Appreciate it. But don’t punish yourself for being natural. Don’t medicate yourself for having a few rainy days. The sun will shine again.

When I was younger, I used to be afraid of the dark. I remember wanting my mom to leave a light on in the hallway bathroom so that I wouldn’t be scared to go to sleep in pitch blackness.

These days, I understand the value of pitch blackness at night, and have gone to lengths of purchasing curtains that keep out light, and even an eye mask to make sure light doesn’t get in as I drift off to sleep or immediately when I wake up.

You see, I am starting to become more curious about darkness, how important it is to personal balance, and how it relates to spiritual growth and development. After beginning to reread the Bible the other day, I could not get past the second verse of Genesis chapter 1a. “And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” Here are some of my thoughts.

To elaborate on some ideas I don’t think I completely expressed in this video: I am curious about the benefit of the symbolic meaning of darkness connected to not knowing (ignorance). I am not, talking about dark thoughts or dark entities. But what the conscious mind would refer to as ignorance and the hidden KNOWLEDGE we don’t consider from the higher part of ourselves to which we give too little attention.

I have two ways I use the word “know”. And while I understand the distinction in my thinking and communicating, when writing, I use all lowercase letters for one and all capital letters for the other. There is a “knowing” connected to the conscious and thinking mind and there is a “KNOWING” connected to your heart and soul—the higher/ greater parts of you (the true you) which KNOWS KNOWS best and KNOWS all.

So in the video when I mentioned how, ten years ago I was doing and now I see more evidence of me trying, I attribute my doing to me following my heart and listening to the KNOWING my soul which is in many times in conflict with the knowing of my mind. When the unction from the heart/soul came, I moved on it. I didn’t think about if it made sense or not, it I acted on it. I correlate this to acting blindly, in the dark, or in ignorance. This is different from what I’ve noticed in recent years, where I find myself “thinking before I speak”, or thinking before I publicly release something I’ve been working on—counting costs, calculating steps, and trying to predict outcomes.

For me, the power in “not knowing” is the product I create in the end. “Knowing” and wanting to know gets me stuck in a mode of thinking and overthinking where I am just left with a good idea on a piece of paper. Today, I am choosing more and more to explore what has been an unknown space and to trust the higher senses my mind calls ignorance.

FINAL THOUGHT: For me, the magic occurs when I step outside of my comfort zone and follow my gut. I experience power when I follow my heart and listen to my soul. Ultimately, I am elevating my heart and soul on the ladder of authority, and allowing them to lead. As I put my mind in its proper place, I sincerely believe I will ACT in a way that will make a difference and change the world.

I didn’t think that Kanye West’s cover art for his latest project, Jesus is King, meant anything until I visited a freshman English class at Howard University. The lecture, taught by Dr. David Green, the associate professor of English and Director of Writing, was about the importance of and techniques for using descriptive language. As an exercise, he asked everyone to look up one of their favorite artist’s Cover artwork for one of their albums and write a brief description about it using the knowledge from the day’s lesson. Since I have been working on a review of Jesus is King for the past week, I decided to look up Kanye’s cover art. To my surprise, I not only found that several people had already written about the cover art, I also found that Ben Blackwell, a Detroit music historian, had allegedly cracked the code to the cover art. After reading his findings, several questions came to mind. I will only ask and answer the top three.

Is “AR 1331 A” the only code in the cover art?

What does blue signify?

What does gold signify?

My questions lead me on a quest. Here’s what I found:

1. Of course not. Beyond cracking the code of the number significance, I haven’t seen much talk about the color significance. Perhaps a deeper dive into the meaning of the colors may at some later time open more doors of interpretation about the code.

2. BLUE: Water is blue. The sky is blue.

PsychologicalSignificance: mentally relaxing, evokes feelings of calmness and serenity; described as peaceful, tranquil secure and orderly.

Biblical Significance: Heaven, healing power of God, the word of God, the presence of God

Chakra Significance: the throat chakra: associated with creativity and self-expression, listening and communicating; when open even negative experiences are transformed into wisdom; success and failure are determined by this chakra; guilt blocks it, meditating on it can bring about occult powers and visions

Spiritual Significance: purity, communion with the source of all being;

Chakra Significance: solar plexus chakra: golden yellow in color; associated with leadership, the power of fire, and transformation; considered to be the center of our power, self-esteem, self-discipline and the essence of identity; meditating on it can give power to save, change, or destroy the world, blocked by self-criticism and self-judgment

Occult Significance: one of the most powerful colors, divination, fast luck, magical power; Satan has a golden aura, Satanic alchemy, perfection of the soul, power

In literature and art, there are several meanings to
everything. One of the reasons I like listening to music and interpreting art
overall is to apply the various layers of meaning to see what the artist was
intending beyond the surface of what the common eye is able to see. Based upon
the above definitions, one could assert a number of meanings from the cover art
of Jesus is King. It could range from
one to ten, everything in between and beyond. One (1) signifying Kanye’s new
relationship with Christ and the true healing and real peace he hopes to
experience from his recent profession of Jesus’ Kingship. And ten (10)
signifying that Kanye West is masking his worship of the planets, specifically Jupiter
(planet/god of abundance that makes people rich)—casting spells on the listeners
with hidden messages using satanic alchemy and magic disguised as miracles and
the power of God.

I will not disclose what I took away from the cover art. I will, however, say that I am sure there’s more to it than what is on the surface. And way more to it than what’s in the letters and numbers on the side. Were the numbers a convenient distraction?